Removing water from processed articles or articles of manufacture is a manufacturing step in the production of many commercial product components and commercial products. Known methods for removing water from substrates include evaporation, centrifugation, absorption, and solvent drying, with each of these methods having certain advantages and disadvantages.
Solvent drying by water displacement has been a preferred method for drying electronic components, magnetic media, and associated products such as disk drive heads. A variety of fluorinated solvents have been used in solvent drying and/or cleaning processes including, e.g., chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and perfluorocarbon (PFCs).
Some articles of manufacture require or benefit from drying methods that can provide a surface that is spot-free, e.g., essentially free of residual water and other residues. For instance, semiconducting wafers can require an essentially impurity-free surface for later working. As such, the method used to dry such products can preferably permit drying to a surface that is "spot-free."
There exists a need for compositions which can be useful in drying methods, especially to meet the needs of spot-free drying applications.